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What Happens When I Take A Car For Collision Repair?

12 July 2017

Tommy Perkins

If you have never had to take a car for collision repairs before now, aside from being lucky, you may be wondering what you're getting yourself into. Here are some of the key components that will be a part of your collision repair.

Insurance Involvement

If you have insurance coverage for collision repairs, or you were hit and are going through the other person's insurance company, they should be involved at this point. It's likely an adjuster from the insurance company will want to take their own pictures of the damage and create an estimate for you to provide to the insurance company. So if you don't have an estimate in hand, stop and talk to your claim representative before proceeding to make repairs.

The Teardown

A teardown is optional for many auto body shops. The purpose of it is to look for vehicle damage below the surface. The shop will tear down the exterior of the car to do this. Since the parts may not go back together exactly as they did with the manufacturer, the procedure is one that the auto body shop will make you aware of. It's a good idea, especially when you're dealing with insurance, in order to document all of the damage that occurred and understand how to prioritize repairs.

Techniques

The techniques used to repair collision damage vary. If you have dents in the body of the car, they may be pulled out with paintless dent repair. If a larger part of the panel is damaged, a replacement might be ordered. If there is damage to the paint, such as scratches, the car can be sandblasted and refinished.

Incremental Repairs and Used Parts

Your auto body shop should try to replace as little as possible, and at the best rates possible. For example, if your door is partially damaged, they can try to keep most of the old door and only replace parts they really need. If your windshield is broken, you can keep your old mirror. Used auto parts are another key to keeping repair costs down.

Timing

Auto body repairs can take a while to do correctly and with care; expect to have the car out at the shop for at least a week, when you factor in the time for shipping parts and making repairs. An auto body shop can often repair you to a car rental facility for discounted rates. Contact a shop, like Mach 1 Body Shop Inc, for more information.

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